Knitting machine



Jan. 17, 1939.

A. F. GUYLER Er AL 2,144,018

KN ITT TNG MACHINE Filed Nov. 26, 1937 Patented Jan. 17, 1939 NITED sTATEs PATE OFFICE KNIITING MACHINE Application November 26, 1937, Serial No. 176,698 In Great Britain December 2, 1936i l Claim.

This invention relates toI knitting machines, and more particularly tofcircular knitting machines adapted to produce warp knitted fabrics, especially Milanese fabric.

U. S. Patent No. 1,998,473 described a method and a machine for the production of a knitted fabric, the machine comprising an endless series of needles adapted to be operated successively by needle cams and one or more series of guides, each series of guides comprising approximately one guide for each needle and each guide being operated to pass its thread round a needle prior to knitting by means of cam rings moving with the knitting cams.

The guide series move slowly relative to the needles either in the same direction as or in the opposite direction to the cams and have a slightly greater or slightly less number of guides than there are needles according to whether their relative motion is in the same direction as or in the opposite direction to that of the knitting' cams. The present invention is especially applicable as an improvement on themachine described in U, S. Patent No. 1,998,473. It provides for a simplification of the guide system which, in the machine particularly described in U. S. Patent No. 1,998,473 involves motion of the guides between the needles from one side of the needle circle to the other in order to pass the threads round the needles prior to knitting. i

According to the present invention, the threads, in circular Warp knitting machines comprising a circular series of needles and a circular series of thread guides, are conducted to the needles by guiding means that are fixed radially with reference to the machine, the threads being moved radially into engagement with the appropriate needles by means of thread-engaging elements separate from said guide means. In machines in which sinkers are employed the sinkers may be used to carry. out this function of radially moving the threads into engagement with the needles, or if sinkers are not otherwise required suitable elements may be specially provided for this purpose.

The radially Iixed guiding means employed in accordance with the present invention may be in any convenient form. Thus they may be in the form of a circular series of guide bits each disposed in a vertical plane through the axis of the machine and mounted in the form of a continuous ring, each guide bit being perforated at its end so that the threadl it is intended to guide may be passed through the perforation. -Each of the said guide bits may be radially fixed in the ring so that no radial movement with regard to the machine takes place, while the ring as a whole may be caused to rotate slowly in one direction or the other round the axis of the machine.

Alternatively the guide means may be in the form of an annular plate having slots or tricks 5 on its edge, one for each thread to be guided. This form of guide means has the advantage that the threads when being threaded up may be simply dropped into the slots or tricks and do not need to be threaded through perforations. Where lo two or more series of threads are employed, the separate guide series for said series of threads may be all of the same kind or they may be of diierent kinds, for example one of each of the two kinds of guide means outlined above may l5 be employed.

As previously stated a convenient means for moving the threads radially into engagement with the appropriate needles is the provision of a series of sinkers. Sinkers have the advantage that 20 they are always, throughout the knitting operation, disposed in the spaces between the needles and do not need to be disengaged and reengaged in such spaces at each knitting cycle. Further, they can readily be made to press the threads 25 slightly inside the needle circle and so ensure adequate engagement with the threads under the hooks of the needles. The pressing of the threads in this manner is in any case desirable, and is indeed essential where the threads are to pass be- 30 hind certain needles and to be engaged by the hooks of other needles, as in the production of silk lap Milanese fabric.

By way of example a machine according to the invention will now be described in greater detail 35 with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a section through one side of the machine;

Figs. 2 and 3 are perspective views showing a 40 detail of the machine at diierent stages in its opere tion; and

Fig. 4 shows an alternative form of a detail of the machine.

The machine is of the general type described 45 in U. S. Patent No. 1,998,473 and comprises a needle cylinder I, a circular series of needles 2 sliding vertically in the tricks 3 of the cylinder I and a needle cam cylinder 4 adapted to rotate about the cylinder l and to carry needle cams 5 50 adapted to engage butts 6 on the needles so as to cause them to rise and fall in the desired manner; The needles 2 are of the bearded type and the usual provision is made of presser jacks 'I for pressing the beards of the needles at the ap- 55 propriate point in the knitting cycle. Several sets of knitting cams 5 are provided round the knitting circle, so that lknitting takes place at several points simultaneously.

Two circular series of threads 9, I0 are provided from two series of short beam sections indicated diagrammatically at Il and I2. Each series of beam sections I2 is mounted on a. frame or ring I3 or |4 by means of brackets I5, I6. The rings I3, I4 together with the series of beam sections II, I2 are adapted to rotate slowly about the axis of the machine relative to the needle cylinder I, one series, e. g. the series II, rotating in the same direction as the knitting cams 5, and the other, I2, in the opposite direction. 'I'he drive for this purpose is diagrammatically indicated at Fig. 1, and comprises a worm wheel I1 on each ring I3, I4, engaged by a worm I8 on a shaft |9, the shaft I9 being driven by means of bevel gears 20 carried on a common shaft 2| driven by means of bevel gears 22 on a shaft 23 communicating with the main drive of the machine. While, in the machine here specifically described the two series of warp beams II and I2 are described as rotating in opposite directions about a stationary needle cylinder I, the essential motion ls the relative motion between the three elements, which may alternatively be obtained, for example, by keeping one guide ring stationary and rotating the otherg'uide ring and the needle cylinder. Each of the rings I3, I4 carries a guide ring 24, 25 by means of brackets 26, 21, the two guide rings being disposed one above the other close to the heads of the needles 2 and slightly outside the needle circle. Each guide ring carries a series of bits 28 clamped to the guide ring by means of a clamping plate 29. Each guide bit is perforated at its end so that a thread 9 or I0 may be passed through the perforation. The guide bits 28 on each ring 24 or 25 are evenly spaced around the ring and project.inwardly therefrom, but the number of guide bits 28 is not precisely equal to the number of needles 2, being slightly greater or slightly less than the number of needles according to whether the guide ring rotates in the same direction or in the opposite direction to the needle cams 5.

Of the two series of sectional warp beams the series is disposed above the guide ring 24 adapted to guide the threads coming from it, so that the threads 9 pass downwards from the beam sections through the holes in the guide bits 28 and so to the needles 2. The second series of beam sections I2 is disposed below its guide ring 25 so that the threads pass upwards to the guide ring 25, over the top of the clamping plate 29 and thence through the perforations in the ends of the guide bits 28 and so to the needles.

Around the top of the needle cylinder I and secured thereto is a sinker plate 30 carrying sinkers 3| in radial tricks 32. The sinkers 3| extend through the spaces between the needles 2 and are actuated to move radially by means of cams 33 carried in a cam plate 34 rotating with the needle cams 5. Brackets 35 connect the cam plate 34 to the needle cam cylinder 4, whereby the cam plate 34 is carried by and rotates with the cam cylinder 4. The sinkers 3| are provided with throats 36 by means of which the loops formed by the needles 2 are held up when the needles 2 are descending and held down when the needles 2 are rising. Above the throats 36 are notches 31 in the sinkers 3|, disposed at such a level as to engage the threads 9, IIJ which pass (as shown in Figs. 2 and 3) at an angle from guide bits 28 to the needles 2 carrying the lately formed loops. The guide bits 28 have no radial movement, and any radial movement required of the threads 9, I0 in order to bring them into appropriate engagement with the needles 2 is effected by the sinkers 3|.

In the operation of the machine for the production of silk lap Milanese fabric, the two guide rings 24, 25 together with the beam sections II, I2 carrying the threads 9, I0 guided thereby rotate slowly in opposite directions at such a rate that they move a distance of two guides while the knitting cams 5 move a sufficient distance to perform one complete knitting cycle. Thus, if there are twelve sets of knitting cams 5, so that in one revolution of the machine twelve complete knitting cycles are carried out by each needle, the guide rings 24, 25 will rotate, in the course of one revolution of the machine, over a space equivalent to twenty-four of the guide bits 28. This rotation, effected by the gearing |'I to 23, is continuous throughout the operation, and causes the threads 9, I0 of the two series to pursue an open spiral course about the tubular fabric formed in the machine.

In the actual knitting cycles as carried out by one needle, beginning at the point where the needle is in a raised position, two threads 9, I0 at this time are pressed against the shank 38 of the needle as shown in Fig. 2. The needle 2 then descends so that'the threads 9, I9 pressed against the shank 38 of the needle 2, enter under the beard 39 of the needle. As the needle 2 descends further it is engaged by its presser jack 1 so that the beard 39 of the needle passes through the loops 40 previously formed on the needle. In this manner the two threads 9, I0, which pass under the beard of the needle, are drawn through the old loops 40 to form new loops, the old loops 40 being engaged by the throats 36 of the sinkers 3| so that the old loops are supported while the head of the needle 2 passes through them. While the needle is descending a dwell is made near the bottom of its movement, at the point shown in Fig. 3, during which time the sinkers 3| on each side of the needle 2 are pressed forward and the notches 31 above the throats 36 of the sinkers 3| engage the threads 9, IIJ at a point above that at which the threads 9, I0 are engaged by the needle 2. This is shown in Fig. 3. When this engagement of the sinkers 3| against the threads 9, Ill is assured, the needles 2 descend further, and the sinkers 3| continue for a short distance on their inward movement towards the center of the machine. Each sinker, as well as engaging a thread 9 coming from the needle 2 on one side of that sinker also engages a thread I0 coming from the adjacent needle on the other side of the sinkers the dwell in the descent of the needles referred to above is for the purpose of bringing the adjacent needles to the same level for a short period so that the appropriate engagement of the threads in the notch of the sinkers is brought about and is not hindered by any difference in the level of the diierent needles, the threads from which are being simultaneously engaged by the same sinker.

To return again to consideration of the single needle, when the needle 2 rises again the two threads 9, I0 coming past it to the adjacent needles on each side have been pressed by the sinkers 3| towards the centre of the machine, so

area-,ois

that the needle 2 rises outside these two threads. 0n the other hand, the needle rises inside the two threads coming from the two needles next but one on each side. As the needle rises the sinkers are retracted and a subsequent movement of the sinkers towards the centre of the machine again brings the last two threads mentioned rmly into engagement with the shank 38 of the needle 2 so that the operation is ready to continue at the next knitting cycle. While these movements of the needle 2 have been going on the thread guide rings 2d, 25 have been rotating slowly so that in the course of the Whole cycle they have passed over a space equivalent to two guide bits 228. In this manner the needle 2 now engages the two threads next but one in each thread series to the threads previously engaged by the said needle 2. By this operation a silk lap Milanese fabric is produced in the form of a tube, the threads passing from Wale to Wale in opposite directions. Each thread is knitted, every other needle having been caused to pass behind the needle next to that on which it was last knitted and in front of the next needle but one so that it is next knitted, not on the adjacent needle, but on the next needlel but one.

In Fig. 4 an alternative form is shown of the guide rings 24, 25, in which the bits 28 and the clamping plates 29 are dispensed with. In this modification the guide rings are in the form of annular plates lll, 652, provided on their inner edges with ridges d3, lll, Which ridges are cut with tricks 5.5, it evenly spaced about the plates di, l2 in the required spacing as described above with reference to the bits 2B. ln this modication the threads 9, i0 are simply dropped into the tricks t5, it in the plates di, i2 and the Opera tion of threading the threads through the perforations in bits such as 28 is avoided.

Having described our invention what we desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

A circular Warp knitting machine comprising a circular' series of needles and a circular series of thread guides adapted to conduct the Warp threads to the needles, said thread guides being fixed radially withreference to the machine, a series of thread-engaging elements separate from said thread guides and adapted to move the Warp threads coming from said thread guides radially into engagement with the needles in the machine and knitting cams adapted to rotate relative to the series of needles and to actuate said needles successively to perform the knitting cycles.

ALBERT FAIRHOLME GUYLER. WILLIAM HENRY BOALER. STEPHEN MILLER FULTON. 

